History of King's Highway 70A:
King's Highway 70A was a short cut-off highway which connected Highway 70 south of Finland to the original Highway 71 (now Highway 11) at Barwick in the District of
Rainy River. The proposed route of Highway 70A was first depicted on a Preliminary Route Plan prepared by the Department of Highways of Ontario (DHO) in May, 1937.
Highway 70A was first assumed by the DHO as a King's Highway on September 29, 1937. The intention of Highway 70A was to provide a shorter route for highway traffic
traveling between Kenora and Rainy River, by bypassing the circuitous southern leg of Highway 70 via Off Lake Corners. In 1951, Highway 70 was relocated from Finland
southerly to Highway 71 (today's Highway 11), in order to eliminate the awkward jog in the existing highway route. The new bypass also eliminated the need for
Highway 70A, because the new relocated Highway 70 made the distance between Kenora and Rainy River more or less equal to the distance provided by the 23 km route of
Highway 70A. On February 8, 1954, Highway 70A was formally decommissioned as a King's Highway. In later years, the east-west section of the defunct Highway 70A
between Finland and Black Hawk was incorporated into the route of Secondary Highway 600. The north-south section of Old Highway 70A is now just a township road, known
as Barwick Road.
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